It's been Alohi, Alohi, Alohi around here the past several weeks, so here's a picture of Lily! She still doesn't know what to think of her new sister, but she's finally starting to come around. At least she's sleeping in the bed with us again!
Are you into basketball? I'm really not, but Jarrod likes to watch March Madness and I usually do a bracket on ESPN with some of his friends. It makes the hours of games more bearable if I have a stake in them! Since I know hardly anything about the sport, my picks are a mix of schools I like and educated guesses. Last year I got second place in the group, but this year my bracket's sucking it up! (P.S. I named my bracket BookWorm -- just in case there was any doubt about my interest in basketball.)
Reading: I started off the week with "A Bridge Across the Ocean" by Susan Meissner (I had an advance-read copy and it came out last Tuesday) and was kinda disappointed. The writing was nothing to get excited about, and I was totally thrown that this apparently ordinary past/present dual narrative historical fiction novel ended up being centered on a character who can communicate with ghosts and and who's having something of a midlife crisis about her ability. I enjoy paranormal novels in the right context, but the blurb didn't mention anything about that plot point (for a reason, perhaps?) and I just had a really hard time getting on board with it. (Here's my full review.)
Because of all that, it was so refreshing to finally dive into "A Perilous Undertaking," the second Veronica Speedwell book, which I've been looking forward to forEVER. The writing is so, so much better than "A Bridge Across the Ocean," the story and setting pulled me in right away, and I love the characters. If you haven't read "A Curious Beginning," the first book in the series, I urge you to check it out!
I'll be done with "A Perilous Undertaking" soon -- as if I needed extra motivation, it's due back at the library tomorrow -- and I've got quite a selection of books to choose from next: "The Dry" by Jane Harper, "A Murder of Crows" by Anne Bishop (the second The Others book), "Lincoln in the Bardo" by George Saunders or "Swimming Lessons" by Claire Fuller, plus an advance-read copy of "Sputnik's Children" by Terri Favro. Decisions, decisions!
Knitting: Nothing, sigh. I still need to block my teal heart hat and make the pompom for the top. And I really need to get back to work on the Hufflepuff scarf.
Watching: We watched "Allied" on Friday night and I thought it was decent. We also watched a couple more episodes of "House of Cards"; just one more episode to go in season 1. And Alohi and I did some more DVR binge-watching while Jarrod was at poker night this weekend and I'm finally almost caught up on "Grey's Anatomy."
Listening to: "Love is Mystical" by Cold War Kids.
Making: Giant paper flowers for my big April Showers Bring May Flowers wall display at work. This next week I'll be making a big 3-D papier-mache cloud for the display.
Mulling over: Taking up quilting. I've always been interested in sewing (though I can barely operate my sewing machine -- I actually took a several year break from it because something was wrong with the bobbin and I couldn't get it figured out; it took my dad about two minutes to fix it when I finally asked) and lately I've seen some gorgeous quilting on Instagram. It's got me thinking about trying it... and it would fulfill my New Year's goal of taking up a new hobby (or at least attempting one).
Blogging:
Monday Musings
My Spring 2017 To-Read List
New Release: A Bridge Across the Ocean by Susan Meissner
Looking forward to: Seeing "Beauty and the Beast"!
I'm linking up with Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?
Apparently everyone went to see B&B over spring break (or at least you'd think so from FB.) I recommend Lincoln in the Bardo. It was a very surprising book, I thought.
ReplyDeletehttps://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2017/03/spring-break.html
I had a super-hard time getting into "Lincoln in the Bardo," but by page 75 or so the format had really on me. Definitely a unique book!
DeleteVery cute kitty and pup. Sounds like you have been busy. One of these days I am, going to start watching House of Cards.
ReplyDeleteThank you! They really are adorable, even though they make me want to rip my hair out from time to time!
Delete"House of Cards" is decent... not my favorite show ever but it's kept my interest.
Sounds like you've been really busy. I love Anne Bishop's series and want to block in time to read all the books so far again back to back. Looks like it might have to be a summer project though. My calendars are full of review books. Come see my reading week here. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteI'm just about to start "Murder of Crows" when I get in bed tonight -- FINALLY! I've been looking forward to it for months, ever since I read the first one. I'm hoping to get all caught up on the series over the next couple months. Hope you get to have your The Others binge!
DeleteSo glad you are enjoying A Perilous Undertaking. I love that series so much. That flower is pretty awesome. My grandmother used to quilt and made some gorgeous ones. I say go for it.
ReplyDeleteSome series are just so comforting and pleasurable to read, and this is one of those for me. This book wasn't quiiiite as good as the first, but I still really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to the next installment!
DeleteI would love to take up quilting someday. At the moment I don't have the space to work, nor do I have a sewing machine.
ReplyDeleteI'm joining up in the fun again and I'm hoping you'll stop by to my new domain.
It's Monday! What Are You Reading?
I always think I want to be a quilter. I have magazines, a Pinterest board, and even fabric bought for quilts, but it seems like I can never even get a top finished let alone get one bound and quilted.
ReplyDeleteDon't feel bad... I took a little Hawaiian quilting class LAST time we lived here (maybe four-ish years ago) and I still haven't finished that project -- and it was just a pillow cover!
DeleteAdorable puppy and cat! I've never heard of any of the books you mentioned but they sound interesting.
ReplyDeletehttp://shoshireads.weebly.com/home/its-monday-what-are-you-reading4975619
I've heard that having a new puppy can feel like a job in itself - they need a lot of attention, and patience!! Thankfully they're so adorable it's worth it. :-)
ReplyDeleteIndeed! We got Conan, our beloved first boxer, when he was almost a year, so this is our first time dealing with all the puppy craziness and adventures. It's fun and adorable... but sooo much work. I just finished cleaning up a Pacific Ocean-sized accident on our kitchen floor!
DeleteOh I remember those days well!
DeleteI was all in on March Madness for two rounds... then my team lost. I'll probably still watch the championship game though, because I do really enjoy college basketball, I just enjoy it more when it's my team that I know. I avoid the brackets though because they stress me out!
ReplyDeleteI'm the opposite -- I don't care much for the sport but I do a bracket for fun! Right now I'm in fourth place in our group, but the team I randomly picked to win (Louisville) is already out of it.
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